7.30.2016

The cool drinks and dessert are necessities in hot summer, and it will be very convenient if we can take those temperature easily. Japanese gadget company Thanko released the gadget which changed iPhone and iPad into a thermometer easily.

When users insert it in earphone Jack and link it and application, iPhone or iPad becomes the thermometer. Because it is non-contact type, users can know its temperature just to bring it 1~2cm close to the thing which wants to measure temperature.

The time required is only one second. In addition, because it has a mode observing a change of the temperature, it is available for inspection and management. The observation log is controllable by Excel.

Its size is 56mm *13mm *13mm, weight is 7g and feeds it from iPhone or iPad. The price is 6,980yen(tax-included).

This is simple match-4 puzzle game. Players move puzzle panels to vertical, horizontal and diagonal, prepare same characters more than four and put them out. However, the puzzle is not so important in this game. This intends for fans of characters, and they can see the new illustrations and animation of characters by puzzles.

Whenever players achieve constant levels, short animes appears.

In addition, players can collect pieces of illustrations when they clear levels. They are recorded in an picture album.

Furthermore, new characters appear when players achieve various quests.

Well, this is a game to collect something cute. Wooga released this on July 19 and passed 300,000 downloading on July 22. It may be said that it is a good start.

7.16.2016

Sunlight has power to control the sleep hormone of people and let their body wake easily. Therefore it is ideal that we wake by sunlight, but it is unsafe to sleep with opening curtains and the sunrise is too early in the summer. "mornin'", the gadget which is attached to curtain rails and its mobile application opens curtains at the time when users want to get up.

When users perform pairing of this and their smartphone by Bluetooth and set time from application, mornin' opens curtains automatically. Users can change the time to set it at every day. For example, every morning of weekdays is 7:00 or and weekend and a holiday is 10:00. Because users can operate four mornin' from one smartphone, they can use them in whole family. The size of this is 56mm *97mm *41mm, weight is 67g, and work with three alkali AA size battery for approximately five months. In addition, this was released on July 13, and 1,000 for the first shipment were sold out slightly in a day. The price is 3,985yen(tax-included).

7.14.2016

LINE held big event about LINE stickers "LINE Creators Festa 2016" in art facilities 3331 Arts Chiyoda of Akihabara on July 9 - 10. This is the fan event that artists drawing LINE stickers and LINE users can interchange. LINE began stickers platform "LINE Creators Market" which independent artists could sell own illustrations as LINE stickers on May, 2014, and it became popular immediately in Japan. Now, various popular characters and star artists are born from this platform.

By the way, 3331 Arts Chiyoda is the facilities which reused a junior high school closed down(Well, children decrease rapidly in Japan, and schools are closed in sequence now. As for it, Tokyo is no exception). Therefore this event was an atmosphere such as the school festivals rather than a company event.

The cute photobooths which put stickers together.

Because Tokyo was already a hot weather at the same level as midsummer, free waters were distributed.

Chronological table of LINE Creators Market. They started from 391 kinds of stickers at first. However, this movement spreads through East Asia and Southeast Asia now.

The area that can experience the feeling of the illustrators of LINE stickers. When visitors draw illustrations on the tablet, they are displayed like LINE stickers on huge liquid crystal displays.

Furthermore, LINE staff examined the illustrations of visitors on the spot. The LINE stickers have strict standards. For example, violence, eroticism, gore are absolutely NG. LINE staff checked whether illustrations of visitors were appropriate and displayed cool works.

Various booths of LINE sticker artists were installed in the gymnasium area. The scene was right Art Festa. LINE Creators Market is already becoming the platform of the character business. The LINE stickers which got popularity are commercialized and are developed the transmedia storytelling.

For example, this "Mentori" becomes the prize in game arcades, mobile games, and various goods.

He is "Yaruki Nashio"(Dull man). He also releases various mobile application and gets the popularity as a character.

Seiji Tazawa is one of the most successful LINE sticker artists. Surprisingly, he is a 72 year-old grandfather and uses Excel to draw stickers. Originally he was an engineer of the electric construction, and learned how to use PC and Excel by self-education at the age of 52 year-old. On this occasion, he knew that he could draw illustrations by Excel, and after that he made it his hobby. He began to use a smartphone after a retirement age and enjoy messaging with his grandchild on LINE. And his talent blew up when LINE Creators Market started in May, 2014. He drew individual LINE stickers of 30 kinds by Excel, and they became the topic in social media in an instant. Now, he gets an income 5 times as large as active engineer days by LINE stickers.

Such words were advocated in his booth. "I am LINE sticker artist until I die".

Probably the LINE Creators Market's greatest success story is "Usamaru". He becomes the goods, picture book, cafes, and anime in this summer.

LINE made new business model by LINE Creators Market. It finds superior artists and changes the virtual goods to the real goods.

7.11.2016

Japanese popular mobile game series "Nameko Saibai Kit" reached the fifth anniversary last month, and its developer BeeWorks Games holds the fifth anniversary event "Nameko Paradise" in a basement shopping mall of Tokyo Station. It was really cool and cute!

Now, Nameko is known as a popular mobile game character, but originally, according to the chronological table which they showed in this event, he(or she) was designed as one of the monsters of the online game. This online game was not released, but Nameko remained in the memory of staff as an impressive character, and he(or she) appeared as a character of the inference game for Nintendo DS several years later. Furthermore, several years later, he(or she) became a popular mobile game character.

Messages for Nameko by fans.

New Namekos which were designed by fans.

A lot of limited goods of 5th anniversary designe.

In addition, they cooperate with other shops of the shopping mall. This is mushroom & vegetables ramen of the ramen restaurant "Soranoiro Nippon".

They aim at make Nameko a universal popular character not a transient boom. So to speak, Nameko is Japanese Angry Birds. Nameko made what Angry Birds should make in Japan.